


Carry On- On Ice!

by Fir3Storm12



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Because I'm lonely and bored, Fluff, I know very little about figure skating so bare with me here, Ice Skating, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Inspired by Yuri!!! on Ice, M/M, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-10 18:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18413642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fir3Storm12/pseuds/Fir3Storm12
Summary: But why was today such a big day for him? Well, the answer was simple. Today was the day of the figure skating finals- and it was being held in Watford of all places. But that wasn’t why he was nervous. He could skate, pretty damn well if he said so himself. No there was another reason he could feel his heart pounding against the thin fabric of the uncomfortable leotard he wore below his costume. There was a reason he felt as if he was going to pass out before he made it onto the ice.He was going to be one half of history, and that was a daunting idea.Simon loves to skate. Simon loves his partner. Simon loves to skatewithhis partner. But the world of figure skating can be unnecessarily cruel and the two have had to jump hurdles just to get here- to the most important even of their careers.





	Carry On- On Ice!

**Author's Note:**

> I was bored, tired and in the mood to write with absolutely _no_ inspiration. What better way to kill time than to write a fic based on an anime I've probably watched a dozen times already? (I know absolutely nothing about figure skating so this will not be accurate, but at least it's fluffy.....sort of).

_Today’s the day._

Simon thought to himself as he unlaced and retied his boot for what must have been the tenth time already. He was nervous, rightfully so. For so long he had thought today would never come yet here they were. This was his dream, the one hope that he’d held onto and allowed to spur him on out of the misery of his upbringing. Now that it was here though, he was terrified.

But why was today such a big day for him? Well, the answer was simple. Today was the day of the figure skating finals- and it was being held in Watford of all places. But that wasn’t why he was nervous. He could skate, pretty damn well if he said so himself. No there was another reason he could feel his heart pounding against the thin fabric of the uncomfortable leotard he wore below his costume. There was a reason he felt as if he was going to pass out before he made it onto the ice. 

You see, he was about to be one of the few to claim to have made history at the infamous Watford Stadium. Because in its 100 years of existence, there had never been a same-sex couple to professionally grace the ice. He was going to be one half of history, and that was a daunting idea. 

They’d campaigned to get here. It had taken years, they’d faced so much, but it was their love for skating (and maybe also each other, though they’d never admit it) that got them this far. Before they came along, traditional pair skating was between a man and a woman. And they were happy skating in small, sometimes barely recognised competitions because they were doing what they loved with who they loved. But when they were noticed, things changed and their eyes were opened to the bigger stage they had both yearned to be on since they mastered their first toe loop. But years of preparation still hadn’t prepared him for this moment. He didn’t think he could make it- his nerves were going to get the better of him and he was going to ruin their first- and potentially last- chance to change the game forever. 

Now if only he could calm his racing heart

“Simon?” A knock on the door caught his attention. He’d decided to stretch in a secluded room, away from the wandering eyes of his opponents and peers. It wasn’t like he hadn’t heard it all before, and the people here were generally very open minded and accepting of him anyway, but it still hurt. It did nothing to calm his frazzled nerves. 

“Yeah?” The door swung open to reveal a rather relieved looking Penny on the other side. 

“Oh thank God! I thought you’d chickened out!” She looked about ready to either hug or punch him- and she still hadn’t decided what she was going to do. 

“Never.” Simon smiled with a slight shake of his head. No matter how nervous he might get, skating was one of the few things he truly loved. He would never give it up. 

“Well try telling that to your partner,” He hated when she did that, placed her hands on her hip in that motherly ‘you know I’m right’ fashion, “He’s been worried sick.”

Simon rolled his eyes, “Please. Baz is only worried he’ll have to go out there himself. He’d manage fine on his own.”

“You know he’s just as passionate about this as you.” Which wasn’t a lie really. Baz had sacrificed so much just to get here. With him. He’d nearly been disowned by his father, was dropped by his agent and nearly lost his passion all together due to all the ridicule he was receiving. Not once had he ever shown that it was getting to him, not once had he ever shown Simon that he was being torn up inside by it all. And then it had all came out one night in a flurry of tears and untameable thoughts. 

It was their first real competition together. After weeks of campaigning and fighting to be allowed to skate in the same arenas as “normal” couples, they’d entered the changing rooms only to be greeted with immediate prejudice. They barely received any screen time on the televised event, and their scores had been shockingly low even though they’d aced both their short programme and their free skate. It was only after the competition that the head judge admitted that each judge had been told to score no more than a five when it came to their routine. It was unfair, discriminatory and the total uproar in regards to it had been so fiery that the board of directors were forced to come together and reevaluate the rules to ensure it never happened again. 

Baz had finally broken down when they were driving home. They hadn’t said a word to each other the entire time until Simon noticed how his dance partner was shaking uncontrollably. And then when he pointed out the tear running down his face, Baz lost it. He hit the wheel with both hands and let out a pained howl before slumping forward in his seat and just letting it all out. 

They sat there in the dark, at the side of the road in the middle of the night, and just cried into each other’s shoulders. It was all too much. Simon had never faced the ridicule as much as Baz had, he didn’t understand why people couldn’t accept that a same-sex dance duo might want to skate in a professional competition with everyone else, why it was okay to step away from tradition to fit the ever changing norms of society. But then, he realised, Baz must have faced it so much worse. There was a reason he was never comfortable with the female dance partners he was assigned. That night, the two of them fully moved away from the remnants of their “rivalry” and their partnership was strengthened. 

It was also the night they shared their first kiss. 

And now, ten minutes away from one of the biggest events of their career, he was debating if it was all worth it. If they hadn’t been forced into this partnership, if they hadn’t fought to be allowed here, would they even be together now? Would they have ever have moved beyond that lingering animosity or have met the wonderful people they know today? It was all just too much to take in, too much to consider, and it really wasn’t something should be weighing so heavily on his mind before a big competition. 

“You’ll be fine, Si.” Penelope’s attempts to cheer him on over the years had boiled down to a few encouraging sentences, a pat on the back and a large banner in the stands. He appreciated it. “No one’s better than you two.”

“You say that, but-”

“My whole family’s gonna be cheering you on. My mother says there’ll be a party at ours for you whether you win or lose.”

The small smile that lit up his face at that was warm. The Bunces had always been brilliant friends- a new family if he dared say so. “Thanks, Penny.” She smiled as they rounded the corner, only to be greeted by the waiting stance of his (rightfully) impatient partner. 

“I’ll leave you to it then.” Penny shot them both one last smile before slapping them both supportingly on the shoulders and leaving to join her family in the crowd. 

The men descended into silence as the hallway emptied, leaving the fading noises of the previous competitor’s music in the background. Simon swung his arms forwards and backwards in a nervous gesture he had picked up since he started skating. He couldn’t rock back on his heels for fear of falling and he couldn’t kick something and risk damaging his blades, or run his hand through his curls and ruin his costume. Believe me, he wanted to do all of that. But Baz caught his hand as they made their way to the rink in silence as they usually did. He took to rubbing his thumb over the frazzled boy’s knuckles to calm him. 

“Hey, you’ll be fine.” 

“Easy for you to say.” Simon would never let the image of Baz in his contest gear leave his mind. It hugged him in all the right places and really popped against his pale complexion. He didn’t need fancy makeup or decoration to jazz it up but he still chose to go for the simple gold bands on his wrists and neck that just made the black and white of his attire pop even more. But Simon especially loved how the simplicity brought out his eyes, and how the very, very minimal amount of eyeliner he seemed to paint on for these events did something to him that he just couldn’t quite explain. To say Simon was absolutely infatuated with his dance partner was an understatement. 

“Simon,” Hearing him use his first name always made his heart skip a beat even after all these years, “You’re going to do great.” Baz cupped his cheek gently just before they reached the steps leading up to the rink, “We’ll do great.” He leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips that had the stress instantly dissipating from his shoulders. How he always managed to do that so easily was a mystery Simon was still trying to figure out. 

The last competitors music ended and a cheer erupted through the stadium. They heard the loud voice of the announcer as he began rattling off the judge’s scores and they took that as their cue, separating with soft smiles dancing on their features. This had become common practice before events, and it was something he loved. 

“You ready to make history, love?” Baz squeezed his hand; he squeezed back. 

“I was born to make history.”


End file.
